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TTC wants to get out of ‘hellhole’ headquarters

The CEO of the TTC describes the transit system’s Davisville headquarters as a “Stygian hellhole” with some employees working in spaces akin to “veal crates.”

His boss, TTC chair Josh Colle, agrees that some of the working conditions are “deplorable.” He wants the transit board to take the politically perilous step of recommending the transit agency move out of the 1958 McBrien building into a modern space large enough to accommodate the system’s 3,000 office staff under one roof.

The TTC's 1958 headquarters over the Davisville subway station houses about 400 employees, many of them in cramped, "deplorable" conditions, says TTC chair Josh Colle. He wants all 3,000 of the system's office workers under one roof. (Vince Talotta / Toronto Star)

It doesn’t have to be glitzy. It doesn’t even need to be a new building. But having staff scattered among Davisville, which accommodates only about 400, and a half-dozen leased offices around the city doesn’t make sense and costs the TTC more than $8.4 million a year, he said.

The women's washroom on the executive floor of the TTC's head office is missing ceiling tiles, part of a recently discovered mold problem at the agency's head office.

“We need to find a new home for the TTC. There’s some existing buildings around we could move into. That’s the best possibility. But just to have different leases and spaces, some owned, some in terrible condition, is just so inefficient and costly,” said Colle.

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It’s not clear what the TTC would have to spend for new digs, but Colle thinks it would ultimately save the agency money.

It is one of the business rationalization steps Colle is asking the transit board to consider on Monday when it debates the 2016 operating budget, likely to include a fare increase.

He also wants the TTC to look at further withdrawing from parking operations and ridding itself of dozens of unused and surplus properties, including two houses it rents out near the old Danforth bus garage. It’s all part of focusing the TTC on its core business, which is transit operations, he said.

Colle understands that TTC riders don’t care much about the administrative end of the system when they’re being asked to pay higher fares, while suffering from overcrowding and service delays.

In the crowded TTC customer service department, the carpet has worn out under the rolling office chairs. It has been replaced with scraps of another carpet and duct tape is used to secure torn sections to prevent tripping.

“They want to see operators and front-line staff. We get that. At the same time, (leasing space) is inefficient, it’s not cost-effective, and they’re not working in conditions that are up to snuff for a public organization in a city like this,” he said.

The TTC outgrew Davisville a decade ago. And the offices are in need of $2.7 million in repairs over the next two years, according to a May report. A consultant’s report on potential consolidation solutions is due in the new year.

Meantime, Colle says he would like the TTC to remain in a central location such as Yonge and Eglinton, where the subway will intersect with the Eglinton Crosstown LRT in five years.

A modern transit system deserves a modern headquarters, and “it’s ludicrous we’re spread to the four winds,” said TTC CEO Andy Byford, who added he’s not looking for marble and gold.

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He merely dreams of a decent, modern head office where visitors are greeted by a receptionist rather than a security guard, and “you really feel it’s a quality organization.”

A section of carpet has been torn out of the the seventh floor boardroom due to moud. A notice near the elevator says the carpet is being replaced and the vinyl tiles, which contain asbestos, will also be removed. (Vince Talotta)

“Ultimately, being world-class and having a truly customer-led workforce and culture can only be delivered by people who understand what we’re meaning to do and feel motivated and happy in their work,” he said.

A recent employee survey showed working conditions are a leading complaint among TTC staff.

A large section of carpet and baseboard has been ripped up in the TTC's head office board room. The building over the Davisville subway is plagued with a mold issue.

“Occasionally you walk past a cupboard — but it’s not a cupboard, there’s someone working in there, no windows, this tiny little hole,” he said.

“There’s areas we can’t put things because the floor won’t take the weight, the ceilings are stained, we’ve just had a big mould outbreak,” said Byford.

A major renovation of Davisville risks the expense of bringing it up to more modern building and fire standards. The elevators are on their last legs, and there are no sprinklers above the basement, he said.

The fabric is torn and hanging off the cubicle dividers in the TTC's customer communications department. In some cases the fabric has already ripped right off the walls. The manager says her department is actually in better condition than some others.

In 2013 another city-run agency, Toronto Community Housing Corp., abandoned a proposal to spend up to $2 million renovating the public housing company’s head office a day after the plan was revealed. Former mayor Rob Ford, city councillors and TCHC tenants suggested the plan was unnecessary and extravagant.

Colle also wants the TTC to consider a different relationship with the Toronto Parking Authority, which manages its commuter lots. It’s time to talk about whether they should cost the same as other city lots.

“We talk a good game about wanting to get people onto transit. At the same time, we incent them to drive to subway stations. We invested almost $100 million last year in expanded and enhanced bus service. It runs counter to all those dollars if we’re saying to people: ‘You can still drive to the station,’” said Colle.

Water stained ceiling tiles, damaged paint and carpet can be seen throughout the dank, narrow corridors of the TTC's 1958 Davisville headquarters.

The TTC takes in about $9 million a year on parking but spends about $7 million operating the lots, with about 13,000 spaces, according to chief financial and administrative officer Vince Rodo.

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